9% tuition hike likely for California State University students

Tools

Students at San Francisco State University and 22 other California State University campuses are more likely to face a 9 percent tuition increase next year, after the CSU trustees finance committee voted 4 to 3 to approve it. The full board of trustees was expected to approve the hike later Wednesday.

The committee vote, at the trustees’ meeting in Long Beach, came after a heated debate. Those who voted for the measure argued that their hands were forced by $500 million in state budget cuts.

“We have an institution to run here,” said Trustee Roberta Achtenberg. “And we have an obligation to run it well. I think we have an obligation to students to apprise them of what we believe it's going to cost absent intervention by the legislature, because if anything's predictable it is predictable that the legislature will not adequately fund us.”

Achtenberg told her colleagues she would vote for the measure.

“This is the last thing in the world that I want to do,” she said. “You can respect that or disrespect that. I couldn't care less.”

Student protesters from campuses across California had planned to demonstrate against tuition hikes outside the trustees meeting. If this tuition increase in finalized and if Sacramento does not increase CSU’s budget to make it unnecessary, students would have to pay nearly $6,000 in systemwide tuition in 2012-13.